COC Announces Post-Aubut Review

(ATR) The Canadian Olympic Committee announced an external investigation October 6 into allegations of sexual harassment against former president Marcel Aubut.

Interim president Tricia Smith told a media conference call that employment lawyer Christine Thomlinson of the Toronto firm Rubin Thomlinson would conduct the probe for the board and would hear complaints from anyone in the Olympic family who may have been affected by Aubut’s behavior.

"She will leave no stone unturned," said Smith, who encouraged anyone with a complaint to speak with Thomlinson.

Thomlinson’s terms of reference include a review and assessment of existing COC policies and procedures, recommendation for improvements and to look into the circumstances of a June 2011 letter of reprimand to Aubut.

The report’s conclusions and recommendations will be made public. Asked if the findings would also be made public, Canada’s senior IOC member Dick Pound said, "In principle, yes."

"We have to be careful of the privacy of certain information, but anonymized if necessary," Pound said. "We’re all trying to learn from the unfortunate experience."

Smith said she was not aware of any criminal complaints against Aubut or any criminal investigation of his behavior.

Smith apologized "to anyone affected" and said the COC looked forward to the complainant, who was not identified, rejoining the organization soon. "These things should never have happened," Smith said.

"We hold ourselves to a high standard at the COC, but when events like this occur it becomes obvious we can do better. We owe it to our employees, to all who take part in sport and to all we seek to inspire. These events have caused us to consider what we can do to ensure we have an environment that’s consistent with the ideals of the COC and the Olympic movement."

Aubut resigned Oct. 3 and the complaint was withdrawn. Smith, a Vancouver lawyer and Los Angeles 1984 silver medal rower, was appointed interim president later that day. She was the runner-up to Aubut in 2009. She will remain in office until the November session where a president will be selected to serve the remainder of Aubut’s term, which expires in spring 2017.

Aubut was subject of an internal complaint nearly two weeks ago. Last week, Aubut stepped aside while a former Quebec superior court chief justice began an investigation. Reports about the 2011 complaint and allegations of other incidents as recent as 2014 led to his resignation. The Globe and Mail also reported that there were complaints about Aubut’s behavior among employees of VANOC, which sparked an internal review at Vancouver 2010.

Written by Bob Mackin

Homepage Photo: Getty Images

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